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Getting away, reflection, and simplifying

When I first started here, I remember someone telling me that it was important to get away. Actually, I think they were telling me about someone who told them it was important to get away, but I inferred that they agreed with that advice.

In my first year here, I remember the odd feeling of getting in my car and realizing that I had not been in it for over a week. That little trip to Groton Market was the first time I’d been off campus in 7 days.

Certainly last year, I realized the importance of getting out and getting space. For nothing else then to change the scenery and fight off cabin fever. It breaks up the monotony and force you to change your rhythm. In my case, I often head to my uncle’s and aunt’s the Burlington area. That 3.5 hour drive also provides me the benefit of reflection. Even just 24 hours away like this past weekend help me to refocus,

The boy enjoying some cold VT air during our 24 hours away

re-center, re-energize and re-prioritize.

It’s not that I find immediate inspiration on these trips—there is no ‘ah-ha” moment. Rather it is that I find my mind more open to receiving inspiration. I allow myself to soak in life.

I know I sound like I’m getting my zen on, and in some ways I am. A book and a film have me thinking more about what I consume and my footprint that I create. The Omnivores Dilemma is equal parts blowing my mind and scaring the shit out of me. Scaring me mostly because there seems to be so little I can do to fight it. Shopping local for food is easyier in the summer. The winter months prove a challenge though. Even then, there’s only so much you can do.

180° South has me thinking about sustainability and nature. Also irony in that the founders of the two largest outdoor gear/clothing companies which have thrived on American consumerism are featured in it as activists and environmentalists. I think they are now, and probably were in the past. It’s just odd to me that their passion for the outdoors and nature lead them to create these companies which I now see on every prep school kid here. As for myself, I’m no better. Do I really need the 10 pairs of pants and 20 sweaters in my closet right now? Probably not. They certainly don’t make me any happier. If I go in, purge and toss eyverything out, then what? Will that make a difference? In the movie, Yvon Chouinard says that the hardest thing to do in life is to simplify. I would suggest that maintaining that simplicity is just as, and perhaps more, challenging.

I think I will try to pare down my wardrobe. I’ll also try to resist the urge to buy the next great thing. When it comes to food, I’ll try to shop more locally. I’m not planning on quitting my job and jumping on a boat to Patagonia, but at least that’s always an option. It’s way down on the list, but it’s on the list.